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Key to love? Paris swaps selfies for bridge locks

Paris hopes to persuade couples to end the unwelcome recent tradition of fixing padlocks to the Seine River's aging bridges, and instead upload hashtagged selfies to a website dedicated to enduring love.

Latvian's Regina and Vadim Medvedev from Riga, on honeymoon in Paris, pose for a selfie on the Pont de l'Archeveche in Paris next to a giant sticker in Paris, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2014. (Photo: Michel Euler AP)

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PARIS (AP) — Paris hopes to persuade couples to end the unwelcome recent tradition of fixing padlocks to the Seine River's aging bridges, and instead upload hashtagged selfies to a website dedicated to enduring love.

With giant stickers in French, English and Spanish on the Pont de l'Archeveche, behind Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris began its #lovewithoutlocks campaign on Wednesday, saying the city's famed bridges "can't resist your love" — the padlocks clinging to every available surface.

The lovers' locks craze dates back only a decade or so. But the weight is pulling bridge railings down.

Attacking a lock is a "symbol of togetherness," said Lawrence Phillips of Wales, at the bridge with his Australian girlfriend.